In an electrical load dimmer, a technique known as zero-crossing detection is conventionally employed, wherein the dimmer is synchronized with one or more phases of an input line voltage to enable the dimmer to properly fire a load-controlling switch, such as a Triode for Alternating Current (TRIAC), at specific times with respect to the input line phase. Typically, a zero-crossing is detected by detecting either a voltage zero-crossing or a current zero-crossing of the input power phase.
Synchronization between the input power phase and the load-controlling switch of the dimmer advantageously facilitates proper functioning of the electrical dimmer. For instance, timing of the firing of the switching element controls the power applied to the load and, as a result, light output of the load to which the electrical dimmer supplies power. However, due to properties of some electrical loads, such as self ballast light-emitting diode (LED) and compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs, especially in cases where a neutral connection to the dimmer is not available, conventional synchronization methods do not adequately synchronize the electrical dimmer with the power phase, resulting in undesired behavior of the electrical load. It would be helpful to develop a system and method that mitigates some of the problems with the prior art.